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Three Men in a Room

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to push the Legislature to adopt real ethics reform. Albany desperately needs tougher rules to end the pay-to-play culture and deep-rooted corruption. But we would feel a lot better if his negotiations weren’t going on behind closed doors.

That’s right. The rules for a more open government are being negotiated secretly by Mr. Cuomo; Dean Skelos, the Senate majority leader; and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver have helped pass a few modest reform efforts over the years, but they always manage to avoid fundamental change. One of the biggest gaps is the weak disclosure requirements for legislators’ outside businesses. Outside income is listed, but only in wide ranges, and even that isn’t disclosed to the public. The 45 members who are lawyers are not required to reveal clients even if they do business with the state. That includes Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver, both of whom are affiliated with high-powered law firms.

Newsday reported that Senator Skelos’s firm has $1.75 billion in contracts with state agencies and public authorities. Mr. Skelos denies any conflict, but how can we know? We have no idea whether Mr. Silver’s firm has business with the state. We hope in his tête-à-têtes, Mr. Cuomo is pushing disclosure hard.

Campaign finance laws need to be a lot tougher (no more $500 fines) and they need to be enforced. The state needs public campaign financing, starting with the comptroller’s office. The reform law should also create an independent ethics commission — not an in-house cop — to oversee both the governor’s office and the Legislature. As Mr. Cuomo is fond of saying, self-policing is an oxymoron. We hope he’s making that case in his private meetings.

Reform must also include the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission to end the gerrymandering that all but ensures re-election for nearly every legislative incumbent, no matter how incompetent or venal.

State Senator Michael Gianaris and Mr. Silver — both Democrats — are pushing a sensible law proposed by the governor last month. Mr. Skelos and his Republican caucus are trying to slither out of their campaign promises on redistricting reform by pushing for one that could not possibly take effect until 2022. Talk about a fake.

There is no time to waste. The 2010 census numbers are in and the 2012 election is just 19 months away.

Mr. Cuomo could move things forward if he reminded legislators of his campaign vow to veto any politically skewed maps. That would send the redistricting to the courts and a special master. With an independent commission the Legislature would still have input — choosing some members and voting on the commission’s maps.

Mr. Cuomo has also vowed that if the Legislature fails to adopt real reform, he will take matters into his own hands and create a Moreland Act Commission to investigate legislative abuses. Some Albany hands suggest that this 104-year-old law doesn’t allow the governor to investigate the Legislature, but Mr. Cuomo could still threaten to hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and generally embarrass legislators for their wayward or even illegal ways.

It may come to that. But Mr. Cuomo could increase his chances of success if all New Yorkers — not just three men in a room — could see working drafts of an ethics bill. Voters are rightly fed up with Albany. They are the governor’s best allies for real reform.

A version of this editorial appears in print on April 9, 2011, on page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: Three Men in a Room. Today's Paper|Subscribe